


The World is Ours

by TGIntentX



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman: Arkham (Video Games), Batman: Arkham - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Angst, Dark, Gore, Minor Character Death, Minor Character(s), Obsessive Behavior, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Possessive Behavior, Suicidal Thoughts, Torture, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-02-06 23:55:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12828858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TGIntentX/pseuds/TGIntentX
Summary: Such is the nature of evil. Out there in the vast ignorance of the world it festers and spreads. A shadow that grows in the dark. A sleepless malice as black as the oncoming wall of night. So it ever was, so it ever will be. In time, all foul things come forth.Something dark calls for Dick Grayson from a city in ruins. To find the answers to the emptiness in his heart, he will soon realize that death is not the end.Tim appears in chapter 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not that much of an expert on Arkham video games series or comics because every time I picked up an issue or watch a clip my heart breaks a little from Jason's tortured soul (whump is not really my thing) that universe is way too dark. I will be using elements from other horror video games to fill in the gaps and I'll try my best with this fic.
> 
> On the side note; This has been my project for a little over than a year and I'm not even 1/4 of the way finish.

Something is calling out to him.

A whisper barely there. When the calling became silent his chest felt empty yet an invisible weight sits upon him. The uncertainty weighs him whether its dark or light, beckoning him on opposing sides. Taking another step he falls into the abyss as the large shadow of the bat swallows him whole.

 

 

Dick groans sleepily at the sound of his phone ringing. Today is his day off and he just got off from his night shift. He grumbled underneath his blanket and slipped his hand out, seeking out the device. He grabbed it from the side table and retracted his arm back into his bed.

“Hello?” he grumbled incoherently. If this is a telemarketer or that douche bag from human resources he is so ready to chew them out. Or hang up since its not worth the effort.

“Is this Mr. Richard Grayson?”

“This is him,” Dick answered, squinted his eyes at the glint of sunlight shining through the gaps of his blinds. “Whose this?”

“This is Lucius Fox calling. I'm afraid I have some bad news. Your butler Alfred Pennyworth is dead.”

Dick jolted awake at the news. This had better be a joke otherwise its way too early in the morning.

“Who is this again?”

“My name is Lucius Fox. I am the president of the Wayne Foundation and a close friend and confidant of Alfred Pennyworth. Alfred passed away less than 24 hours ago. He died in his sleep.”

Dick puts his phone in his lap and stares at it. It can't be true. He just saw Alfred a month ago and he was fit as a fiddle. The rock of emotional support of his upbringing that led him to become the man he is today. He was more than just a butler. Alfred was family.

Dick breathes in deeply as he raises the phone to his ear, his hand shaking as he does so.

“We will need to meet this week to settle any matters of affair,” Lucius said over the phone. “I'll contact you again soon. And again, I am sorry for your loss. Expect my phone call soon.”

With that, Dick hangs up the phone and puts it down. He stares at the pool of blankets as tears started to drop, drip by drip. His hands clenches the blanket tight and cries silently for the loss of his only family.

 

 

The funeral was a private affair. Many of Alfred's friends had died before his death and those who remain stayed for a while before leaving as well.

Dick stood solemnly in his dark three-piece suit, squaring his shoulders with his head held high and endured the proceedings in silence. During the wake he thought about all the memories he had with Alfred. Most of them are good but muddled that he could chalk up his emotions getting the best of him. Throughout the funeral Dick remains silently strong, squashes the feeling of sadness deep inside. He will not cry and will make Alfred proud.

After the funeral he was the only one who remained by the tombstone. Alfred is buried far away from where he calls home and this is as much as he could do for him. He closes his eyes knowing something inside him is broken and utterly beyond repair.

“Mr. Grayson?”

Dick opens his eyes and turns his head. Lucius Fox walks toward him with a sympathetic look and stands next to him before Alfred Pennyworth's grave.

“Mr. Fox,” Dick greeted. “I can't thank you enough for putting this together. I doubt I would be in my right mind to do this.”

“Its understandable,” Lucius said. “You have experienced a personal loss. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't be able to handle it either.”

Dick stares at the glossy tombstone sadly, wrapping his arm around his body from the breeze. “I wish there was more that I can do for Alfred. He keeps giving and I feel like I'm always taking...”

“You being here today is enough and Alfred wouldn't have it any other way,” Lucius reassured. He brings up his watch to check the time and sighs. “I have some unfinished business to do but please meet with me after you finish here.”

Lucius turns to leave Dick alone by Alfred's grave. All alone Dick stares up at the cloudy gray skies overcasting the land below them.

 

He didn't know how long he was at Alfred's grave but he ended up eating dinner with Lucius in a small cozy restaurant. The place was quiet and they didn't make any small talk, eating in a comfortable silence.

Dick uses his fork to move around a broccoli nonchalantly until Lucius sighs. “I suppose it is best to do it here now than ever.”

Lucius lets the waiter take their partially empty plates and moves to rummage his briefcase sitting next to him. “I manage most of Wayne Enterprise business matters but I also handle the Wayne family's personal interest including their legal affairs.” He takes some legal documents and handed them to Dick. “As the surviving member to the Wayne family the will states you now inherit their assets so as to make sure you are well taken care of.”

Dick looks through the document given to him, his eyes gone possibly wide at the amount written on there. “But that's impossible,” he said, reading through the legal documents. “I was never formally adopted, and Alfred, how could this be?”

“On their policy you were named the beneficiary in the event of Alfred's death,” Lucius explained, pointing at the statement on the document Dick was holding. “It's not just monetary value but you now have your name on assets such as stocks and trust funds. Most of these originally belonged to Bruce Wayne, your guardian, but after his death his assets were transferred to Alfred. Some have been donated to the Wayne Foundation and other charities around the world.”

Dick scans the legal documents feeling detached and empty. Bruce was gone a long time ago and it was Alfred who helped keep himself together. He should feel grateful but it all just felt nothing. That's all he's been feeling these days.

“You won't need to worry about handling them because that's what lawyers are for,” Lucius joked. “But there is something that may require your undivided attention. Alfred left a letter for you at the event of his death for your eyes only.”

Dick takes the envelope from Lucius's hand and proceeds to slowly take it out. As he read the letter slowly he starts to feel confused and worried.

“One of the assets you inherited in the will includes Wayne Manor,” Lucius said. “Its on the outskirts of Gotham City and it used to be one of the oldest historical landmarks created when Gotham was first founded. But it has become ruins. A grave if you will – after what happened to Gotham.”

Dick grimaced. Three years ago there was a catastrophic nuclear accident with Ace Chemical Processing Plant that blew up Gotham and the surrounding area. It was nicknamed as the country's own Chernobyl Disaster but with much dire consequences. There were no survivors and Gotham County was quarantined. Dick doesn't remember the exact details of the disaster but he was lucky he wasn't in Gotham at that time.

“Wayne Manor may not be worth much on the market,” he said. “But its worth checking out if you're up for an adventure.”

And Dick couldn't help but agree.

 

 

His supervisor gave him a few days off for Alfred's funeral and he has some vacation days to spare before he has to go back to the office. He packs a few days worth of clothes and essentials into his big backpack and filled his car's gas tank full so he can get ready for his trip.

“You sure you want to do this?” Barbara asked, sitting on the couch as she changes the channel on the TV.

“Of course,” said Dick as he made his way over to Barbara, jumping over and landed his butt on the couch. “There's so many things Alfred hasn't told me and something in my gut says that my answers are in Gotham.”

Barbara scoffed. “Or rather what used to be Gotham and frankly I don't think you can even get in. The whole city has been sealed off with barriers and gates to stop sweet idiots like you from entering there. The whole place might still be leaking with radiation and you could get cancer or something. Have you even done your research?”

Dick nodded, grabbing a handful of popcorn next to Barbara and starts munching it. Of course he's done his research. He researched everything related to Gotham and Wayne Manor from official reports to online forum speculation. Most of the things he found didn't really help him at all.

“I packed a gas mask, an oxygen tank, some antibiotics, and a hazmat suit,” Dick said in all seriousness even though the items might be a bit overkill. He should thank Wally for lending him all of those stuff. "I also packed a gun, five bullet magazines, and a hunting knife."

“Or how about you just don't go there at all,” Barbara grumbled. “You know how I feel about it.”

He sighs, looking sad as Barbara abruptly got up and goes to her room. She quickly returns and places something over Dick's head.

“These are my father's dog tag,” Barbara said sadly, holding the metal in between her fingers. “He gave it to me when I moved as a gift for good luck. Guess it works because I wasn't in Gotham when it blew up. I kept telling him that he should have moved with me but he was so stubborn about it. If I had just push him a little bit more then he could have live.”

Dick draws Barbara into his arms, hearing her sniffle. James “Jim” Gordon was the police commissioner of Gotham City. Before he came to Gotham he was a soldier serving two tours before returning home and bringing the war with him. He was in Gotham when the disaster happened, probably trying to evacuate as many citizens as he could. Barbara talks about him with reverence for his deeds and exasperation for his quirks. Hearing all those stories from Barbara makes Dick wondered what the man would be like if he were still alive.

“I'm giving you this as good luck,” she said, wiping a tear from her eye. “So I expect you to return it to me.”

“I promise.” Dick kept his arms wrapped around her and gave her a peck on the cheek. They watched the movie in silence, the character shoot his blaster at his enemies before falling into the dark abyss.

 

 

The next day Dick drove for three hours to Blüdhaven, the nearest city to Gotham. Driving was exhausting and his plan was to stay in a motel for the night and travel to the city's ruins the next day. At the same time he could ask the locals for information about Gotham. The city was geographically close to Gotham and having some eye witness accounts would give a refreshing point of view.

But it seems like he's been barking up the wrong tree as most of the people he asked dismissed him with a scoff, insulted him, and in one instance picked his wallet.

After turning the thief to the police, Dick heads to the nearest bar for a drink. He's so tired from driving and asking people that it seems to him that some higher power is laughing at his endeavor. Alfred would be so disappointed.

“You alright there, kid?”

Dick looked up to the bulky bartender looking at him curiously. He looks around to see if the bartender was talking to someone else but its just him by the bar. He doesn't seem like the friendly sort nor the jaded citizen but what else he's got to lose.

“Just tired,” Dick said, taking a sip from his beer. “Nobody in this city seem to want to help me.”

“Are you a tourist?” the bartender asked.

Dick shook his head. “Nah, just passing through. I'm on my way to Gotham.”

“There ain't a city there no more, what you want to go there for?”

Dick gave a weak smile. “My – um, grandfather recently died and he lived in Gotham before he moved. It's a long story...”

Multitasking, the bartender got up to give a customer a beer but he still has his attention on Dick. “There aren't a lot of customers and I got the time so fire away.”

“Thank you. I'm Dick by the way. I've been asking people for their first hand account of seeing the explosion in Gotham. Just so I know what to expect when I get there.”

The bartender got out a beer for himself and sat in front of Dick. “I'm Hank Hogan and I own this bar. I was here when Gotham exploded, could see that mushroom cloud from my bar. I remember the exact date, time, and what I was doing when it happened. I can tell you what I know and heard, if that would be enough.”

Dick perked up at that. “That would be helpful, thank you so much. I want to find something that couldn't be found on Wikipedia or skeptics. Something a person living nearby would know.”

Hank took a sip from his beer and hummed in thought. “Ahhh... So you want a cautionary tale. A myth – legend. I'm not sure if its true or not but when the feds came to deal with that disaster, most of them didn't survive. After creating a barrier around the city, a team ventured in to look for survivors. Just an hour inside the city and they ran out of there as though something spooked them real good. Some of them didn't really recover and denied whatever they saw, swearing never going back there. But they were able to make their “official” report that what you were able to read on the Internet.”

“What did they saw?” Dick asked.

“Ghosts,” Hank said, his voice takes on an ominous tone. “One of them said they saw ghosts or shadows of the dead running around in panic screaming. Even after all this time the guy says he could still hear them screaming for him. Another said they saw some sort of monster with fangs, tentacles, and everything sinister you can think of. These ghosts don't really see them, running right through them and those feds just ran out of the city screaming bloody mary. But to them, the worst of them is seeing a giant shadow of a bat coming after them.”

Hank sighed, taking a breather before continuing his tale. “Now the government didn't take them seriously, not listening to what they saw that made some tough looking men piss their pants. Not learning their mistake they sent in a military team to assist researchers and rescuers to help them with their job. They managed to hold radio contact until they reached the center of the city when suddenly they just vanished. Poof! None of them returned.”

“What happen then?”

“Like I said, none of them returned. They sent in drones, checked the satellites, anything, but they can't find them anywhere. Like they suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth and eventually the feds left. Sometimes a stupid adrenaline junkie managed to sneak into Gotham. Some of them managed to came back within minutes of going in. Others never came back. But to everyone in Blüdhaven, Gotham is known as No Man's Land. Everybody in Blüdhaven was told to keep it hush hush.”

Dick frowned thinking how absurd it sounds. But the man doesn't seem like he would lie about this sort of thing.

“People who have never traveled to Gotham nor lived there don't understand how deadly and terrifying the city can be,” Hank took a long sip from his beer before continuing. “Even before its demise the very aura of Gotham is sickened with evil that cannot be purge. Sometimes that evil downstream into Blüdhaven, saturating this city in corruption and evil. Heck – some days I wish this city blew up instead. And I tell you this as a warning if you still wish to embark on this journey; The city is the monster.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

_Master Richard,_

_I have never got the chance to say this but it was a pleasure to serve you. There were times I wish we have never lived in Gotham as the city is always in the dark. So much so that I feel that even thinking about it makes me feel unease, for this city is the cause of Master Bruce's terrible fate. And even all this time I still believe you are the light of hope in my darkest hour._

_Too much time has passed and there were so many things I wished to tell you but never have the chance. Realizing that the time we have in life isn't enough to help guide you and Master Bruce to a better future is my greatest regret. All this time I've neglected you, never extending myself to do what was best for you leaves me thinking of my failure. Please continue to live well and I wish for you the best of luck._

_~Alfred Pennyworth_

 

That's not true, Alfred. Please...

He woke up in cold sweat, breathing heavily as his muscle spasm his whole body. Slowly his breathing evens out and his body relax, falling back down onto the mattress. Another nightmare. He's been having them recently but he can never remember what they were about. But it seems it may have gotten worse, a twisted version has formed as he is so close to his destination.

Dick checks the time on his phone before rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He stumbles out of bed to get ready to leave. After talking with Hank he planned to get a goodnight sleep so that he would have enough energy to get ready for the day. He could blame reading Alfred's letter before bedtime or Hank's campfire horror story for his lack of sleep but the real blame is himself.

It's approximately a 33 minute drive from Blüdhaven to Gotham but after Hank pointed out the bridge connecting to the two cities has been destroyed Dick will have to take the long way around. It would be a two hour drive so he packed some food and picked up some coffee for the road. The plan was get a quick look at Gotham City and later make his way to Wayne Manor. Hopefully he will find what he is looking for and head home. Although the journey might not be long he needs the familiar taste to keep his head on straight.

His mind is in turmoil as he taps on the steering wheel to the tone of the radio. He has a good life and he doesn't know what he's doing running after ghosts of his past. Ghosts that he doesn't really remember and the forgotten city beckons him.

Dick thought back to the bar where Hank recounted his memory of how it happened. What he has experienced sounds so real that it made himself doubt if he could remember it as well. Truth was he doesn't remember much about Gotham. There were shadows of familiar feeling, an ache for the city he supposedly lived. But all his thoughts come up empty and he regretted not asking Alfred for help. Everyone, including the city next to it can recall so clear and yet his light bulb memory wouldn't light up.

He sighed, drinking his coffee in one hand and turning the wheel slightly in the other. In all honesty any sane person wouldn't go to Gotham. He doesn't know where that strong desire is coming from and it isn't to have closure for Alfred's death. It sounded much more, even that letter from Alfred isn't enough to entice him to go.

He finally reached the border perimeter separating Gotham county and the rest of the world. He stopped his car at the parking control gate and got out. When he walked up to the security booth to get them to lift the gate nobody is there.

That's odd, Dick thought as he looks around the small booth. There's no sign of anyone previously occupying the booth and yet the controls look well worn and used. It looks like somebody has abandoned their post not long ago but they wouldn't be coming back with how tidy it is.

Dick shrugs at the thought and turns on the control to lift the gate. He got back into his car and continued his drive until he is almost at the edge of the city. Stopping his car he stretched his arm out to the back seat of his car and rummage for his equipment from his trunk. He takes out a radiation survey meter and puts on a gas mask and hazmat suit. Its a little over the top but with all the research and Hank's account its better safe than sorry.

After putting them on Dick got out of the car in suit and all and starts walking into the city, turning on the machine in his hand. A low beeping sound is heard as it picks up radiation level. He looks around him, taking note of the ruined buildings and debris. Past a broken window of a video store, an overturned car, and a abandoned park with dead trees.

A city rusted away into nothingness but something seems off. He's supposed to have some sense of familiarity as he walks through the streets but it's like he's never even been into this city, looking around like a tourist. It's not just his memory that felt off but also the city itself. Something about Gotham makes the back of his hair stand up, shoulders tensing from a run and flight response.

There's no signs of life. The park he walks past looks dried up and broken. The grass looks gray that if he were to stomp it under his shoes, he bets it'll turn to dust. No small critters like a mouse or bug, not even the birds fly by. The decay looks halted and the city feels dead and empty.

Dick takes a closer look at one of the buildings with a lot of damage and notices there aren't any flash burns marking the city scape of the nuclear meltdown nor bones of the dead. At first he thought maybe the government has cleaned up the city of the dead bodies but it isn't possible. Hank said that the feds did a sloppy job as most of them didn't stick around long enough for a clean up crew.

Suddenly the radiation meter in his hand started a series of loud beeps indicating high radiation levels. Dick looks up and sees a tall office building in front of him, forcing him to crane his neck. Some of the glass windows of the building were shattered, large pieces lying on the ground where he stood. The sign marking the company's name is unlegible, crumbled and broken. 

Just as he was about to venture in, he heard a sound of a scuttle behind him. He quickly turns around to the source but there's no one there. It was odd and he was about to note that it could be a small critter when he realized there's nothing living left in the city.

The sound of a scuttle came from the right and this time Dick follows the sound. It seems he's walking in the right direction as the sound got louder until he arrived at a dried city fountain. Suddenly the noise stopped. He quickly turns his head to any sound but there's nothing at all. He must be hearing things.

Dick sat down on the edge of the fountain to rest. He wanted to remove his mask to breathe easier but he can't risk the radiation. He placed the radiation meter down next to him letting his hand lazily dip into the water.

Wait a minute.

Dick quickly got up and saw that the previously dried up fountain is suddenly filled with water. He swear that there wasn't any liquid there in the first place. It was just odd, he thought as he move closer to inspect the water. It looks clear and clean, scooping some water into his hand and letting it drop back in.

He took a moment to stare at his reflection in the water, laughing inwardly how ridiculous he looks with the gas mask and suit. He looks away from the reflection, raising his head up and saw a child on the other side of the fountain.

Surprised, Dick stumbles back from the child appearing out of nowhere. The child looks about ten years old, frowning at the water and not paying attention to the man in front of him. The boy tilted his head curiously and Dick turns his attention from the child to the water. He intake a sharp breath, noticing that water didn't reflect the child as the boy reaches his hand closer to the water. Even as the boy dipped his hand into the water, there is no distortion nor a ripple. This could be the ghost Hank was talking about.

Suddenly the boy lifted his head and meets his eyes. Dick froze under his intensity yet the quietness his eyes conveyed. He could feel his body shake, couldn't move from his spot. It felt so weird and the second Dick blink, the boy disappears.

He blinks again, looking around for any sign of the boy. There is no sign of the child and the water from the fountain has disappeared. His surroundings is just like the minute he sat down and his gloves are dry. He picked up the radiation device to check it's levels and found that there aren't any sign of radiation.

He wanted to rub his head in frustration, realizing he didn't find what he was looking for. His eyes has been playing tricks on him about the water and the boy. But it felt so real like he could reach out and touch the boy. But something in his guts tell him there was something unnatural about the him yet something familiar.

 

 

Dick returned to his car tiredly and slumped against the steering wheel. He didn't realize how far he walked and not to mention the lack of mobility of his suit. He checked his phone and realized its late afternoon. Just how long has he been in the city, he managed to make it back to his car unscathed.

He continued his drive to Wayne Manor, past the dried up forest. The effects of the nuclear meltdown killed all natural life in the area, not just the city itself barely recover. He should be able recall the number of times he drives past these woods but it still comes out blank.

As he kept driving, he frowned a bit. He doesn't remember the drive to Wayne Manor being that long and he should be able to see the building by now. A few minutes past by and he's coming up to the familiar walls surrounding the Wayne property. The tall gates loomed over him - 

Dick suddenly stopped his car just meters away and choked. Wayne Manor is gone.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> forgot it was Dick Grayson's birthday yesterday...

It's impossible. The whole building is gone.

Dick scrambles up the road leading to the house. He didn't bother wearing his hazmat suit, too shock to even think about it. Nothing. He sees nothing. Just an empty plot of land. No building. No debris or rubble. Not even ruins.

He finally reaches the space where the building was supposed to be and collapsed to his knees. This was supposed to be his home a long time ago. He could almost imagine what the building looks like from its architecture to the shade of color. Where the living room was supposed to be to the stairs that leads to his room. The chandelier hanging in the foyer to the fireplace where he spends most of his winter.

It was his home where he spends his childhood with Alfred... and Bruce. Something happened to Bruce just as something happened to cause Wayne Manor to disappear. It was the same thing that destroyed Gotham, taking away his home and guardian with it. But it's impossible to find a clue as there is nothing left to find.

Suddenly a ringing sound is heard causing Dick to clutch his ears. The sound pierced into his brain like a jolt of electricity. He grunted in pain, falling onto his hands to support himself. His vision began to blur, disorienting him. He thought his eyes are playing tricks on him that when he blinked he is standing in the middle of the foyer rather than the empty plot of land. The portraits on the walls, the chandelier on the ceiling, the ficus by the corner. And yet its not really there, as though he's seeing through static on a TV screen.

“Bruce?”

On top of the stairs he could see Bruce standing there looking down at him. A large shadow is cast behind him by the chandelier, climbing up the wall to encase him. Dick could barely see his face, his vision too foggy and his mind dizzy.

All of a sudden the ringing stopped and the headache subsides. The moment he blinked, his vision is clear and he's standing where he was supposed to be. No manor. No Bruce. Just an empty plot of land.

  
  


Returning to his car, Dick rummage in his backseat to take out a sandwich he made for a late lunch. He multitask; eating his sandwich while texting Barbara about what he saw. A ruined, decayed city with surprising lack of radiation. His childhood home gone as though it never exist.

Pausing his text he wonders if he should mention his hallucination to Barbara. The boy and the water. The vision of his home. The man who disappeared. Would Barbara understand him? In the end he decided not to send his text, putting his phone back into his pocket.

Finishing his sandwich, Dick checks the map to find the quickest route out of Gotham. As he was planing his route he noticed a weird space on the map that was right in the way of his destination. The space is smudge, possibly from deterioration from the poor storage condition. But he could make out some words and the road leading towards it.

Arkham Asylum.

Now Dick hasn't been living in a rock but just from reading the Arkham Asylum he knows that he should stay away from it. Even if no one has been there in years, it is still a good idea to avoid the place. One of his rules of living is to leave things alone that you don't understand.

But there's something is telling him to go. Just take a quick peek and maybe he could find the answers he was looking for. Medical records in their archives, anything. It's on the way out and it wouldn't be an inconvenience.

  
  


A capital 'a' reflecting downward greets him overlooking the gates of the Asylum. He stares at the sign as he parks his car in front of the entrance. Checking the radiation meter before he leaves the safety of his car, there aren't any radiation found indicating it was safe to venture without his suit. Stepping out with only the bare essentials, he opens the gate and enters.

The imposing five stories building is in the same shape as the rest of Gotham City; grey, decayed, and dead. The bars on the window are rusted maroon, one of the bars from the window is on the verge of falling to the ground. The small garden he passed by is dead that even the soil is as dried as gravel.

Dick shivered as he walks deeper into the asylum. He opens the door to the main building and walks into the lobby. Turning on his flashlight and shines it around, the inside is just as affected as the outside. But it looks like chaos has passed these parts; furniture is strewn around and broken. He should of have just turn around and leave if that stain on the wall looks to him like anything but blood. Wiped against the wall leading toward a dark hallway to his left. The lack of bodies made his body tense.

Now his guts is currently screaming for him to get out of there immediately but he couldn't. There's something malevolent in the air that's keeping him in this building. Just turning his head back to where he came from makes the hair on the back of his neck stand on edge that if he were to look back he wouldn't like what he saw.

He walks into the dark hall following the blood stain on the wall. He kept one hand on his gun tucked to his belt in case anything were to jump out at him. This type of scenario reminds him of every jump scare games he could think of. He never really enjoyed playing them because now he's in this for real.

He walks past the locked rooms that previously housed the mentally ill patients. In each of the rooms he could feel a distinct presence of the previous occupants living in each room. Magazines stuck to the walls, a dried up plant, tally marks that covered one side of the wall, an umbrella with a unique hook. All of the rooms look abandoned and dead, waiting for time to catch up and deteriorate. No sign of life forms as everything remains untouched. All except one.

The room Dick stopped at looks too clean for the elements to catch up. The door was open by a small gap but Dick wouldn't take a step forward. It felt like the previous tenet occupying this room is so sinister that even after death their essence still remains. It may be his mind playing tricks on him as though he could hear a maniacal laugh coming from that room.

Dick shudders, turning his eyes away and continues down the hall. He doesn't believe in ghost but his general rule of thumb is not to mess with things he doesn't understand. And so far he broke that rule as soon as he crossed the border.

He stopped at the end of the hall and stood in front of the wall. He's been following the trail of blood on the wall and it stops here. He doesn't know why his body moves to follow the trail nor why his hand suddenly moves to push the wall hard. It gave way a false wall, opening inwards to reveal stairs going down.

Now this is the part where his common sense dictates that he should immediately leave this place. But his body disobeys again and descends down the dark winded staircase with his flashlight showing the way. Dick could blame his sense of adventure and adrenaline of why he continues going down the creepy dark stairwell. If this was a horror movie and he was watching himself as a third person point of view, he would have been yelling at himself of how stupid he was and to get out of there.

As he continues walking, he felt a sharp decrease in temperature. He shivered, rubbing his arms and puffs of air exhaled. He continues down the passage until he reached the bottom.

Seeing a light switch next to him, he flicks it on. Only a single light bulb was lit, hanging low in the center of the chamber. The single source of light cast eerie shadows around the room. Surgical equipments, heavy machine, all sat in the room in disused state but it was not the cause for Dick's shiver.

A single wooden chair bolted to the floor sat in the center of the room. It looks worn and used, scratches and tears painted across the chair like a scars on a body. There doesn't seem to be a cause of alarm on anything significant. But for some reason this ordinary object made his blood run cold and his hair stand on edge. He could distantly hear an echo of a scream followed by a distant laugh.

He has to get out of there.

When he turns around to head back up, he bumps into a solid body behind him. Blinking he looks up to and sees someone familiar yet out of place standing before him.

“Lucius?”

Lucius Fox smiles at him. But it wasn't a kind smile, a hint of malice lying underneath. Dick moves to go around him but was stopped by Lucius's hand on his shoulder.

Firm and strong, Dick looks at the hand on his shoulder before meeting the owner's eyes. Lucius's smile seems to grow wider when suddenly he pushes Dick causing him to fall.

Dick clenches his eyes, bracing for impact of the cold hard floor. But when his body didn't meet the floor causing his eyes open wide as he continues to fall.

He saw Lucius standing on the top of the stairs looking down at him as his body keeps falling. Lucius's figure keeps getting far away but he could see something about his face shifting into something different, leaving behind a logo of two a's reflecting each other.

He falls faster into oblivion, he could barely see or breath. He couldn't scream, choking at the rush of air meeting him. The last thing he saw was a huge shadow coming after him like a bat, enveloping him whole, his vision turn dark.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Dick wakes from the blackness of fear that he wasn't supposed to survive. He could hardly breath, gasping for air as his fingers finds purchase over the hard pavement from where he laid. Disoriented from falling such height, he wobbles as his head spins to re-right himself.

Finding strength in his legs he struggles to get up. He looks up to see the hole he supposedly fell into but was met by a completely different sight.

“What the hell...”

He's not back at the chamber of Arkham Asylum. He's in the middle of Gotham City.

But it's not the same Gotham. The ruined buildings are in early stages of decay but still standing tall, barely on the edge of degeneration. The shadows cast by the wreckage of forgotten buildings were deeper to hide. The sun should have still been high in the sky when he enters the city, now dark and blood–like red painted the sky. Dust and mortar floats in the air, creating a shroud like fog enhancing the red and surrounds the city.

With the shadows and debris, this is not the Gotham he knows. It was no maze, but one false step and he would lose his way, condemned to wander about for eternity. Dick took out his gun from his holster, holding it with practice ease and started walking down the empty road with questions firing away in his head. He should be waking up in a ditch, not in the middle of the city. And the sudden appearance of Lucius Fox who decided it's a good idea to push him into a hole and into this far scape baffles him.

Meters away he sees someone running in front of him. From his position he could make out a man running away desperately, stumbling and tripping his foot over the debris.

He makes his way toward the man when he caught sight of the man's pursuer. A group of creatures running at inhuman speed and jumps upon the man like wolves hunting their prey. The man screams as they tore into his flesh with their claws and teeth. Blood sprayed high like a geyser as one of them have punctured the man's artery. All Dick could do is stand frozen in muted horror.

A single thought crossed his mind and nothing more; they're not human. But their short statures with arms and legs are human–like but all of them have the same characteristics. Wild red hair, purple clothes, and crouching as though they are about to pounce. But the most distinguishable feature is a peeling mask covering their faces.

One of them stopped chewing on the carcass and started to sniff the air. In half a second the creature froze before its head snapped towards him. It howled so strongly that the sound was enough to reverberate in the pit of his stomach. Dick started to run away with all his might for the horde has decided to hunt their new fresh prey. If they caught him, he'll be done for.

He doesn't know what to do or where he should go. The city of Gotham is a colossal labyrinth of ruins surrounding him on all sides. He ran into a building, climbing up to the roof to put some distance from the horde. But the creatures are able to keep up, climbing up the stairs and walls with ease of a spider.

Catching first sight of the creature crawling onto the roof, Dick fired his gun at it. The bullet hits the target in the head dead center.

But something is wrong as it didn't completely fell over. The creature wobbles side to side before up righting itself and howls at him. The shot only disoriented them, not killing them for good.

Distracted, Dick didn't notice that one of them leapt onto his back. He tried to shake it off but it clung tightly to his shoulders. Its nails digging in and teeth snapping, pain shooting through him like pinprick needles from their claws.

“Argh!!”

Prey immobilized, another leapt to attack him. Dick swung his knife out from the back of his belt and down at his would be attacker after he turned it to the creature clutching him. Pained screams reached his ears and the weight on his back slid down with a thud.

Not looking back, he parkoured to the closest building next to him, continuing to flee. The creatures follow with ease in pursuit, howling in joy of hunting their new prey.

He ran this way and that through the twisting urban maze, jumping through passages and into alleys. He stole away into an ruined building around the corner and held his breath just in time for the hordes to run past his hiding place. When the sound of pursuers faraway, Dick finally lets out a breath of relief, letting his whole weight slump onto wall he's leaning on.

With the moment of reprieve, he tries to figure out what is going on; how he found himself now after managing to lose them in the maze of a city. His gun won't be enough, so he puts it away, clutching the knife in his other hand. This had better be a dream or he's being punked because this is not funny anymore.

He glance at the corner to see if the coast is clear. There is no one around and it's just him. Dick sigh, moving his arm to rub sweat from his forehead. He doesn't know how he got here but he knows better than to stick around. If he could just get to the edge of the city, this whole nightmare would –

Suddenly he turned his head up to the window and sees one of the monsters looking down at him. The creature jumped through the window and pounced on him. It proceeded to snap and claw at its prey but Dick put up one a hell of a fight to protect himself.

Scratches and bites causes his arm to bleed profusely. Dick managed to kick off the creature and scrambles to get away. A kick isn't enough as it retaliated by biting on his leg. Dick yelled from the pain but it didn't stop him from trying to stop the creature.

He grunted when his hands snagged onto the edge of its mask, trying to stop the creature from biting him. He felt it gave way, pulling the mask with all his might. As he pulled the mask, the creature screeched in pain feeling like their skin being ripped off.

With one last tug Dick rips the mask completely off from the creature, revealing it to be a young girl. Her eyes shown clarity, different from the hunger in the creature's eyes. Her red hair turns into brown, her natural color. The mask in his hand dissolved into dust but Dick doesn't notice it. The young girl stopped attacking, looking around her surroundings in panic.

“Miss are you alright?” Dick asked, holding her upright so she wouldn't fall.

“N-No,” she stammered, her hands clutches onto Dick's arm in support. “W-where are we? What's going on?”

“I don't know,” Dick answered. “I was hoping you can tell me. What was the last thing you remember?”

Her body trembles under his grip, her eyes stares at the floor of her feet. “M-monsters...” she stammered. “I was running and these monsters caught me... dragged me to a hospital... a man in a pig mask did something to me...”

She lets go of Dick's arms and slowly slide down to the floor, drawing her knees up and whimpered. What she described didn't really make much sense to Dick but after being chased by those monsters as well he will just have to believe her.

“We can't stay here,” Dick said as he gently gets the girl to stand. “Those monsters are looking for us. We have to get out of the city.”

Dick takes a quick glance outside to see if those creatures are out there. With no monsters out there he beckons the girl to follow him. They quickly made their way through the ruins of the city while avoiding to make a sound.

“Are we in Gotham?” the girl asked softly. “What happened here?”

“I'm not sure,” Dick replied. “I just got here a few minutes ago.”

He heard a noise in front of him, quickly pushes the girl behind the building and hides. He looks behind the corner and waits for the source of the noise to appear. What comes out is beyond anything he couldn't imagine.

The same creatures that attacked him staggered out into view slowly. A man with a pot-belly wearing a butchers apron and gloves walks out behind them. A chain connecting to the creature's neck is attached to the man's hand, looking as though he is walking his dogs. Dick felt his eyes widened when the man turns his face, looking in their direction.

He is wearing a pig's mask.

This was the girl's tormentor. Dick's body stiffened and held his breath. In his mind he begs to any high authority not to be seen nor heard, closing his eyes and counted to ten waiting to be ignored or slaughtered.

When he reaches to ten he took a chance to glance behind the building. He counted his lucky stars that the monsters are gone, giving them a chance to escape.

Quietly he signals the girl to start walking away from the direction the monsters were headed. They keep walking with him in front, looking around for any monsters that might show up. They reached a hill, piles of ruins in a stack and start trekking through the rubble, having difficulty with the piles of junk under their feet.

“Hey I never got a chance to get your name,” the girl said. “I'm Valerie. And you are?”

“I'm Dick,” he said. “Are you doing alright?”

“I'm okay,” she said. “Course I could do without the climbing...”

Dick gave a short chuckle. They managed to climb to the other side of the rubble and started to slowly climb down. A piece of metal from the top of the pile rolled past him as it drops to the bottom. Dick turns his head to where the piece of metal originally fell and felt his body froze. The man in the pig mask stares at them.

It wasn't luck that they managed to avoid the monsters, Dick thought. Those monsters had been toying with them since the very beginning.

“Run!”

Dick and Valerie immediately jumped down and ran as fast as they can. Behind them they can hear the creatures gaining on their heels, growling and snapping their jaws. He dared to look back and saw a handful of the monsters chasing after them while the man in the pig mask stayed on top of the rubble watching them.

“Quickly! Into that building,” Dick yelled, over his shoulder. He made it to the building first, wrenching the door open. He turns back but the sight was horrible.

Valerie lets out a dying scream from the ground while her arm reaches for Dick helplessly. The creatures had caught up to Valerie and proceeded to rip her into shreds. She must have been too slow or tripped on something. Three of the creatures were playing tug of war with her body but the rest are running in his direction.

He quickly shuts the door, locking it with a pipe through the handles. He took to the stairs two at a time just as the creatures busted into the building. There was no where to go but keep moving. The creatures are gaining, some going by stairs while others climbed the rails.

Dick bursts into a nearby room, locking the door behind him. No windows nor any other way out. He's trapped with no way out but he's not going to go down without fighting.

Just as the creature breaks down the door, Dick grabs the fire extinguisher he saw next to him and slammed it onto the creature's head. Without a beat he swings it at the next creature entering the room, hitting it square in the face incapacitating it. He miscalculated the weight of the fire extinguisher, causing him to stumble from the momentum.

He was exhausted, breathing heavily to catch his breath. His muscles throbbed from overused, littered with scratches and bites. It was his state of exhaustion that distracted him from the third creature rushing at him, knocking him clean off his feet. Its jaws snapped at him, their claws grabbed his arm forcing him to drop the fire extinguisher. He tries to punch the creature, hitting it in the face but it didn't feel any pain and proceeded to bend Dick's arm.

“Aarghhhhh!!”

At the rate its going, his arm is going to be broken. Dick looked around wildly to find something to protect himself. His eye caught sight of a glistening black metal. He stretches his other arm as far as he can while keeping the creature at bay from biting into his jugular. With the metal in his hand he slashes out at the creature, causing it to let go of his arm.

“Get away!”

The creature howls in pain, clutching its face from where Dick had struck. The pained yowls attracted two more creatures nearby as they burst into the room snarling at Dick. He rolled around and stand with the metal in his hand ready to strike. The creatures charged slamming Dick into the wall. He yells in pain when the claws slashes at his ribs. He brought the metal down into its face, yanking it out to strike at the second creature coming for him.

It must have been his imagination but he swore the metal in his hand is vibrating. He blames the blood loss as he braces himself from the monster he previously incapacitate to rush at him. He did a good job defending himself against these creatures but his body started to get tired and the metal in his hand feels like it's getting heavier.

He stumbles back after a hit, raising his arms up to block the tackle and the inevitable. Suddenly the metal in his hand glowed, thrumming in his grip. The glow start to get brighter and brighter, blinding Dick and the creatures. He hears the creatures dying howls, dissolved by the light until nothing is left of their bodies. A white light blinding his vision, swallowing him into unconsciousness for the second time of the day.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you haven't known by now, this is a backburner fic.

_He walks past the tall hedges until he reaches a clearing, closes his eyes and enjoys the summer breeze and setting sun. Opening his eyes continues his walk until he reaches the top of a small hill, smiling as a big tree came into view. There he saw someone sitting at the bottom of a tree, reading a book._

_He gives a wide smile and proceeds to walk towards him._

_\--_

Dick groaned from his slumber, wanting to continue sleeping in his warm soft bed as he snuggles deeper into his cover. Trailing his idle musing he squinted from his covers half awake. He blinks slowly and tiredly before his eyes open wide with shock. Recent memories began to filter into his mind, half awake until the past sensation caught up to him, jolting him fully awake.

Dick quickly sat up, looking around frantically. Finding no danger he barely relaxed, looking around. He pulled back one of his sleeves, remembering that nasty bite he got from the monster. Looking closely, he found nothing; no scar or dried blood. Not even a bruise when he was bodily slammed into a wall. Not only is his body is fine but the clothes he was wearing earlier had been clean and tear-free.

He stretched his arms above his head and yawn. Although his body is fine, he still feels sore. A dull ache throbbed when he popped a kink, twisting his waist as he takes a good look around his room. Long thick curtains are drawn shut shielding the window, leaving the room semi-dark. His sheets are navy-blue with pillows bigger than his own back at his apartment. A desk by the wall with scatter books and paper followed by a shelf built above into the wall filled with detailed models of cars, ships, and planes. A worn poster with faded colors, taped to the far end of the room. The details are hidden by the well-placed shadow of the hanging bookshelves containing more modeled vehicles.

It's his old room back at the Manor.

“Are we awake, Master Richard?”

Dick quickly turned toward the voice but yelped when he turned too quickly, falling back onto the pillows. He rubbed his neck to soothe his ache. “Don't force yourself or you'll twist something.” A kind familiar old man moved into his line of sight, giving Dick an unamused look.

“A-Alfred?!” Dick gulped, dimly remembering the things that happened the last couple of days and sighed, letting himself fully relax in his bed. “Thank god its all just a dream...”

“Whatever are you talking about?” Alfred raised his eyebrow. “You are all right, please relax.”

For a second Dick closes his eyes, resting his head against his pillow, not realizing Alfred gently pulled his arm out and injected him something. Dick makes a noise of surprise when he felt a sharp prick in his arm. “Ouch! Alfred?! What – ” He gave a shout when he felt something like fire traveling down his veins, his blood boiling from his head to his toes.

“You mustn't fight it,” Alfred said impassively, holding Dick's arm tightly with inhuman strength to inject the rest of the serum. “This is for your own good.”

Dick writhed under Alfred's grip, trying to tug his arm away from the pain he felt. But it was useless to free his arm as he screams to the ceiling. What seems like fire turns into ice but no less painful like a thousand needles embedded under his skin waiting to burst. To be burned or to be frozen, he could hardly breathe.

And then it subsided. The fire and ice feeling left Dick gasping for air. His eyes could barely open, reaching his arm out at Alfred before closing his eyes from exhaustion.

_“There now, you see? All better.”_

 

* * *

 

The next time Dick opened his eyes, he's not in his bed. Slowly getting up from the hard pavement he looks to the sky. He's still in some nightmare version of Gotham if the debris and ominous sky is anything to go by. A nightmare-ish hell scape. The monsters that attacked him earlier, falling into the abyss, the scream; all of it was real.

“So it wasn't a dream,” Dick groaned, looking down on himself. His body is littered with bruises and dried blood, his clothes has tears and holes. But his injuries were healed.

“Alfred...”

The room with Alfred earlier felt so real. From the cotton sheets to the pain of injection. Alfred was supposed to be dead but how did Dick ended up there. How was Alfred alive? What did Alfred injected him? Was it all a dream?

It's no use thinking about this when he's standing in the middle of nowhere so Dick shakily got up and walked in an unknown direction. He noticed that the place he woke up is in a middle of a road, not the building where he was attacked. It's eerily quiet, setting his nerves on edge. He needs to get out of Gotham and hopefully this nightmare would end.

Using the bus stop's map and his memory, he was lucky he didn't have to walk much to make it to the highway. It should lead him to the edge of the city and hopefully to the sister city, Blüdhaven.

The highway was crowded with empty broken cars packed together as though all of them are trying to get out of the city as well. Occasionally Dick had to climb over them when there was barely enough space to navigate through. Windshields were cracked, paints peeled, metal dented.

He halted in his tracks when he reached the end of the road. The end of the highway was destroyed and there is nothing on the other side. Dick cautiously looked at the bottom of the cut off highway and swallowed nervously. He couldn't see the bottom of the abyss, where it would lead. There is nothing and he is trapped in Gotham with no way out.

Dick pulled himself back from the brink and leans against one of the cars. His hands shake to take out his phone from his pocket to call someone, anyone. He presses the number for Barbara. Static meets his ears. He tries again and again and gets the same result. No signal, no response. Nothing.

He puts his phone back into his pocket and punches the car door next to him in frustration, putting his head between his knees.

In his misery he could barely hear something approaches, the light clicks of claws tapping against metal. But he heard it, he subtly reaches for the metal rod lying under the car and waits. He could hear it crawling to him slowly like a predator. Closer and closer.

And then he strikes.

The bang of the metal hits the monster's head, slamming it into the hood of a nearby car creating a dent. The monster snarled, shaking its huge hound-like body; black fur with white stripes like bones. Dick strikes out again and again, not giving it a chance to recover as it wails every time it made contact. The monster bites the rod to stop it from attacking and throws it out of Dick's hands.

The creature hunches forward ready to pounce. Dick crouches ready with his hands in front of him. The creature rushes at Dick with its teeth sharp snapping at him. Dick dodges out of the way but was knocked down by the creature's tail. It jumps at him but Dick saw his opportunity.

In a split second Dick twists his body up, his legs snapping up and slams the creature away. Given his position he was in earlier he kicked the creature in the direction of the cut-off highway. The monster's howls turn into welps of fear, echoing as it falls into the abyss.

Dick shakily gets up catching for breath, looking at the where the creature fell. Blood rushed through his ears, pounding as he breathes heavily through his mouth. That had been a close call, barely survived. He clutched to the hood of the car to brace himself, letting his forehead touch the cool metal. He paused when he heard a strange, distant sound. There are more coming.

He barely missed the noise while he gathered his bearings... growls from the beasts, loud thumps of paws hitting pavement, nails scrapping on the surface.

Dick carefully moves around the parked cars, to get away from the noise as quietly and quickly as he can. He peered over one of the cars and sees the beast similar to the one he just killed,stalking to the direction he previously came from. He’s almost back to the city and hopefully he’ll be able to find shelter and safety. Breath hitched.

He didn’t watch where he was going when he stepped on a broken piece of metal.. it made contact with his shoes, the sound echoed. Dick paused, his breath held, hoping the beasts didn’t hear. When he heard gallops coming toward him, he decided to run.

Escaping the highway, he ran through the walkway by what was suppose to be the Gotham harbor. Benches lined up to view the edge of the city. The beasts followed him, able to keep up with his pace. Moving around and jumping over debris that stand in their way.

He ran toward the roads as the beasts try to catch up to him. He made a break for the first building in sight, rushing for the door. He grabbed the handle, trying to twist it to open but it didn’t budge. With sounds to the beasts getting closer, Dick shakes the door handle desperately for it to open.

The door finally give way, just opened barely a gap for Dick to pass through. With little difficulty he managed to slip in, just barely closed it with the sound of a heavy body slammed into the door.

The beasts on the other side of the door kept slamming itself, not knowing the door needs to be pulled rather than pushed. Dick staggered back, breathing heavily from the running and fear. He doesn't take the chance of sticking around, moving into the building to find a way out.

He reaches to the other side of the building and sees a door at the end. But he was apprehensive when he sees dried blood splattered on the halls and door leading there.

“I'm trapped...” Dick muttered, slapping his forehead repeatedly. “Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!”

The banging from the beasts echos followed by a creak of metal, the door is breaking. Looking around wildly, Dick sees stairs leading up. No where else to go, he goes three steps at a time. About five flights up, he hears a giant slam of the metal door being slammed opened. He doesn’t stop, knowing the beasts are on his tail.

Reaching the roof, Dick slammed the door shut. A heavy looking bin is situated next to the door, he uses it to block the door. It won't hold for long.

From what he could see, he's on top of an old apartment building. The buildings are separated by gaps that would be impossible to jump across. But what other choice he has with a much worse option coming up behind him.

With his choice made, he goes to the other side of the building. He runs to gain traction, just in time for the beasts to burst through. He almost shakes but he's desperate to live. He leapts across for the building, landing on the roof with a tumble. He barely made it.

Dick breathes heavily as he got up, turning around to see the beasts pacing around the roof. He barely made the jump across but those beasts with their strong legs, jumping across would be a piece of cake.

He starts for the next building, jumping across successfully but just barely on the edge. He doesn't stop to look back, the beasts had made it across. He could feel his legs becoming heavier like lead, all the strain catching up to him.

Dick tries to jump for the third building but his timing is off, didn't make it. He managed to grab onto the building's ledge to stop his fall. He grunted as his body slammed onto the brick wall, sending a bad shudder throughout his body.

This is it. He is going to die by falling to his death or being eaten by some beasts. He just had to be the idiot in coming here with some weird notion of finding him. He didn't even have the chance to –

“Haven't seen you 'round these parts before.”

Dick slowly looks up, his eyes widened in surprise. A young man wearing a black cowl-like cape is sitting on top of the ledge, next to where Dick is hanging by the ledge for his dear life. The young man has his legs crossed dangling on the ledge, under his cape is a red shirt with two belts crisscross draped over his chest. If Dick wasn't in a life or death situation, he would have question the young man's choice of attire rather than hanging on the ledge.

“Aren't you gonna help me?!” Dick yelped, his arm is hurting from holding on.

The young man gives Dick an disinterested look from where he is sitting. “Now why would I do that? It seems you got the _hang_ of it.”

The pun doesn't do anything to lighten the situation as Dick glares at him the best that he can. “Please! Just do something!”

Just because a mysterious young man appeared before him doesn't mean that he forgot all about the beasts on the other building, waiting to devour him and the newcomer. The young man's laidback attitude did nothing to dispel his worries nor urgency. He could feel his hands sweating from being in such a tense situation, his grip loosening from the ledge.

Eventually the young man sighs, getting up from the ledge with his cape swept from his movement. “Why don't you _stick_ around?” the young man quipped. “This won't take long...”

Just as the young man said it, the beasts leapt toward them. Their jaws opened wide, drool flying out from the corner of their mouths, claws at the ready to draw blood. Dick instinctively closes his eyes at his unavoidable fate.

A large thwack followed by a beast's yelp came as a surprise when Dick didn't feel anything attacking him. He looked up to see the young man with a bō staff at ready looking unfazed.

The beasts came pouncing at him, all at different directions. But the young man didn't break a sweat as he deflected them all, slamming and parrying them away followed by a killing blow one by one.

The movement above causes the rubble of the building to shake unsteadily. Dick finally managed to pull himself up, hissing at the stinging pain of the callouses forming in his hands. He looked up just in time for the young man to get rid the last of the beasts.

The bō staff retreated under the young man's cape as the owner looked at one of the downed beasts by his feet. “With a beat down like this, there would be more coming,” an ominous tone filed his voice. “I'd rather not stick around whether to find out if they were the same beasts or something else entirely.”

Sensing that the stranger was about to leave, Dick called out. “W-wait! J-just...”

The young man paused, regarding him curiously. Dick tries to level his breathing, exhausted from the ordeal he went through. He could barely take a couple steps, his hands supporting his weight on his knees. His exhaustion is overwhelming that not even the sight of the defeated beasts startles him.

But he pushes through by sheer will, leveling the young man with exhausted eyes. More than anything he needs answers. “H-how can I get out of here?”

The young man gives a self-deprecating chuckle, shaking his head. “If I had known a way out, would I even still be here to answer your question?”

“No – I – it's just -,” Dick struggles to answer. “I just got here a-and I don't know what exactly is this place. It's Gotham but...”

The young man looked intrigued by his answer, tilting his head curiously. He turned around to face Dick fully, carefully tugging back his cowl to reveal a tired young face with long dark hair reaching to his chin.

The young man's eyes are dull but a spark twinkled deep within. “If hell exists, it would be right here,” a sarcastic smile graced his face. “Welcome to Gotham.”


	6. Chapter 6

“W-what?! But that's –”

The answer wasn't what Dick expected but for some reason he knew it to be true. Or at least somewhere that is remotely the place he once knew. It was hard for him to take it in as he stumbled back, his hand stretched out to steady himself by the ledge while his other hand clutched the short end of his hair.

“H-how can that be possible?!” Dick mumbled. “I was just in Blüdhaven yesterday and then...”

“It's odd that you managed to survive this long through sheer dumb luck,” the young man said, sitting on the side as he bemusedly watches Dick freaking out.

Dick didn't hear a word the young man said as he paces on top of the roof back and forth, not minding the defeated beasts at his feet. “I remember coming to Gotham with my car, went to the city center but it's nothing like this... Later Wayne Manor – only it's not there... and then – this is actually a dream, isn't it?” He pinches his arm hard and yelped at the pain. “Okay - maybe not...”

The young man sighed, getting up from his spot. “Whether you like it or not, dream or not, you are here. The only thing you have to remember while being here is to survive. Nothing else matters.”

Dick frowned at the severity of those words. To have them spoken by someone so young who should still be in school. But the world they are in is not something to be trifle with and it won't be easy as just saying it out loud.

The young man turns to leave, only to be stopped by Dick again. “I–I'm Dick. Dick Grayson. Thanks for saving me from... whatever those things are...”

The young man paused, contemplating his answer. He lifts his cowl to cover his face, leaving only the bottom half in view. “I'm... Tim.”

With that answer, Tim plummets on the other side of the building. Dick scrambles to where Tim had fallen. When he looked down, Tim disappeared without a trace.

It's impossible, Dick had thought. To fall from this height but Tim isn't down below. But he didn't have the time to think too much on that. Taking Tim's advice that there would be more coming, he hurried out of the roof and out of the building as fast as he can.

By using the stairs, of course.

\---

What Tim had said stuck to his mind. Whether he likes it or not, whether it is a dream or not, he has to survive no matter what. If there is an off chance that this could be a dream, he would die in real life.

Walking down the road, Dick was careful this time. He kept his eyes open and ears sharp. There is no one out in the open but he couldn't be too careful. He tries to make as little noise as possible, moving quickly and deftly by the buildings and out of sight. Dirt and debris are scattered in his path, making his gait hard to navigate.

He looks into the buildings he comes across, peering into the broken windows. He looks for anything useful but most importantly his new wayward friend.

Chances of surviving and having his questions answered are with Tim. But the young man had disappeared as quickly as he appeared. He doesn't even know where he is going, wandering around in the desolate eerie city aimlessly.

A sound of a rustle has Dick plastered to the building as though he tries to merge with the surrounding area. He made out the sound is coming a couple of feat in front of him. He moves to the corner and held his breath as the owner of the sound gets closer and closer.

A little boy appeared from the corner out of place. Dick was surprised seeing the boy walking out casually like he's not in a monster infested city. Oddly, the boy seemed perfectly fine. A collared green and white shirt with gray shorts to match. White and blue sneakers tread through the debris covered road.

Looking at the boy carefully, Dick's eyes widened when he realizes something familiar about the boy.

It was the boy from the fountain.

“Hey!” Dick called out, getting out of his hiding place. He goes up to the boy but the boy didn't stop. In fact it seems that the boy hadn't heard him. “Wait – kid!”

Whether the boy is willfully ignoring Dick or doesn't perceive his presence, the boy continued on his way prompting Dick to give chase. The boy moved fast and Dick is barely keeping up.

Dick barely noticed that a miasma has fallen around him, keeping his attention solely on the boy in front of him. When he noticed the boy is walking toward the downtown area of Gotham that the fog has gotten thicker. The air around him got thicker, the buildings around him have darkened. An ominous feeling fell around him, telling him that going after the boy would lead him to his doom.

It seems he doesn't have to as he lost the boy in the fog. Dick stopped in his tracks and looked around wildly, he lost his way. The fog felt thicker, surrounding him, barely able to see his own two feet. He couldn't even see the darkened buildings that he originally saw before.

“Hello?!” he called out, hoping for the boy to answer. “Kid? I just want to talk.” There was no answer. His breathing got heavier, turning his body around to see anything familiar, hoping for either the boy or Tim.

A distant sound of cracks is heard, Dick snapped his head to the direction it is coming from. The sound continued to get louder and the feeling has made goosebumps appeared on his arms. He sees something appeared from the fog and what he initially saw has him running in the other direction.

Tall faceless beings without eyes or mouths emerged from the fog. Their sickly grey skins and tattered remains of human clothes makes it easy for them to blend in the surrounding area. Their backs hunched with their long neck supporting their oval head. Their slow awkward gait followed by other parts of their body move abruptly. The sound they make are like bones snapping and popping from their joints.

They move in a slow disorderly fashion. Dick felt a little bit relieved that he should be able to out run them. But more of those beings emerged from the fog, not just from behind but around him. They emerged all around, blocking every possible directions. Their numbers will soon overrun him, there will be no escape.

“Shit...”

Dick quickly moved to where there were the least number of faceless beings, shouldering past the ones who tried to get in his way. He dislodged the hands that had grabbed onto him. Elbowing, shoving, ducking, anything to keep his distance away from them. When it looked like he got out of mob, he bolted but not before picking up a metal rod lying near him.

He ran as fast as he could, he didn't need to look back to hear them keeping up. Bones breaking fast and loud as the faceless beings stumbled after him. He ducked into an alleyway to throw them off; turning past corners before jumping over a broken fence. He continued to run, kicking obstacles behind him to block their path.

The sounds of bones cracking faded, allowing Dick to finally catch his breath knowing he had put enough distance between them. He breathes heavily, letting his back hit the brick wall of a building behind him. He's beyond exhausted, trapped in an unknown world. His only hope to survive this hellish world and get out of here is no where to be seen.

“Why...” Dick whispered to himself, clutching to the metal rod in his hand like a lifeline. “Why did I even come here...”

His head rests against the brick wall as he looks up to the sky. From all his wandering and running for his life, he hadn't notice the grey sky had turned dark. Not like the normal dark as the sky has the ominous feeling just over his head.

A sound from a far had him hitch his breath. His eyes widened as the sounds start to get closer. His body plastered to the wall, attempting to merge with the wall. Breaking, snapping, popping of the bones came closer from all around. Dick could barely move, barely breathe..

And then the noises stopped.

Dick strained his ears to hear the faceless beings. He couldn't hear anything apart from the sound of breathing loudly through his nose.

A sickly grey claw came out of the building like liquid, grabbing Dick's shoulder. He tugs his body out of the creatures grip before another claw came out and made a grab for him. Stumbled away from the wall, he didn't notice that more of those beings came out of no where.

As the faceless beings came closer, mouths starts to form from the bottom of their face. The mouth opened wide beyond human limits, the opening like jagged teeth, revealing a dark space like vacuum, threatening to suck the essence of any living being into them.

Dick swung his metal rod, knocking down two faceless beings with a sickening crack. He punched and kicked, threw some of the beings into each other. But there's too many within the confined space he found himself in. The beings ripped into his clothes, scratching his skin bleed in the process. They finally caught him, held him down and their numbers overwhelmed him.

The faceless beings held Dick on his knees, his arms stretched to the side with the rod in his hand held uselessly. He struggled to get out of their hold but it's useless with their claws holding him tightly in place. The faceless beings around him gets closer to him and mouths start to form to consume him. Dick struggled to turn away, his head held in place by the faceless being. A somewhat sucking sensation could be felt, draining Dick of his energy. They came closer to devour him, to consume everything about him. To turn him into just like them. The fear of his doom had him clench his eyes shut, to will away the beings from getting near him.

Suddenly the sensation was gone. The sucking sensation has paused before a strong wind was felt. Dick couldn't open his eyes from the sensation, his hair whipped wildly and his skin stinged.

The weight from the faceless beings grip loosened. Dick stumbled out of their hold, dropping onto the ground. He couldn't see what was happening, he couldn't even get up. He could hear the faceless beings are still there by the loud sounds of their bones. But a particular loud snap of the bone had Dick shuddered, the sound particularly out of the ordinary for these beings.

Dick tried to open his eyes but all he sees was a blur. The faceless beings had moved away, rushing toward something in front of him. He couldn't make out what they were going after, it's too dark to see.

The sounds of bones snapping loudly followed, worse than the sound of how they moved. The loud snaps of bones caused Dick to clench his eyes and covered his ears tight. Gritting like a nail on a chalkboard, forcing Dick to curl into himself like a ball hoping whatever is going on will end soon.

Then the noise finally stopped. The wind subsided until it becomes a light breeze. Dick tentatively opened his eyes, the faceless beings are gone.

He shakily got up from where he had curled into himself, looking around wildly to see what had just happened. But he couldn't see with the darkness that had fallen around him. He was sure it wasn't this dark before.

His eyes adjusted to the dark just in time to see a being with its back standing in front of him. He was only able to see an outline of a being wearing a cloak covered in head to toe. He squinted his eyes to see if he could make out any details of the man.

“Tim?”

The being turned around to face Dick. Although the being is facing fully in front of him, Dick couldn't see anything detail of the being. The being blends too well with the dark.

Suddenly the being flew straight towards Dick as though it flew with the wind. Dick yelped, instantly shuts his eyes, his arms stretched out in front to block him. The gust it create felt like it's embracing him.

For the second time since coming to the nightmare hell-scape of Gotham, Dick fell into the oblivion.

 

* * *

 

_A smooth melody reaches his ears, urging him to rise. Blinking sleep from his eyes, he gets up from the sofa and walks toward the source of the sound. Out of the living room he had slumbered in, past the foyer where the chandelier hanged. As he gets closer to the source from one side of the manor to other, the sound becomes louder and clearer._

_A grand piano is played by a man with peaceful expression. He doesn't look up at the intruder as the song continues by his hands gliding across the keys. He stands besides the man playing, watching and listening to his movements before he finally speaks._

_“It sounds nice...,” he said. “Not that I don't like it but it sounds like something that would make me fall asleep.”_

_The man on the piano gave a short huff, continued to play. “It woke you up, didn't it?”_

_The melody continued, filling the manor with it's sound. But like a flip of a switch, the sound slowed, the notes separated with an extra beat apart. The haunting music dims until the last note is played, faded slowly into the dark._

 

* * *

 

Dick gasped, sitting up abruptly with goosebumps running up his arms. He quickly patted his body until he reaches the top of his head. He sighed in relief before he inwardly groaned.

“Where am I now?”

It happened again. He's no longer at the alley but on a crumbling rooftop with half of the building broken to reveal the inside. The sky that had been dark earlier is now a sickly gray color, indicating time had passed when he was unconscious.

Gathering his bearings, Dick was making his way to the stairs to go down but stopped short. He turned his head to scan the area, particularly the roof tops near by. He noted that most of them are within reachable distance.

“All right... I can do this...”

He takes a deep breath before making a running leap for the nearby rooftop. He landed but kept running with the momentum he created.

It was odd but he felt lighter, jumping across rooftops with a better ease. He didn't even have the same ease when he was running from the beasts earlier. He was supposed to be tired after running from the faceless beings and jumping the rooftops, but for some reason he's more energized than before.

Dick landed on a rooftop, taking a couple of steps after he landed to stop his momentum. He scans the area when he sees a familiar figure on the same roof he's standing on, sitting on top of a water tower.

“Tim!”

Cowl-less, Tim looked down from his perch at Dick coming his way. He leaned forward with his arms rested above his knees to better see the man below him. “You survived...”

Dick frowned, lifting his head. “Yeah, no thanks to you,” he stiffly said. “If you hadn't run off when I was talking...”

“I wasn't sure that you would survive at all,” Tim shrugged. “Most people wouldn't on their first night, let alone a week.”

“I wouldn't know how to survive either!” Dick splayed his arms out. “This is the second time it happened but I'm not about to look at a gifted horse in its mouth.”

“The second time?”

Dick twists his wrists around in rotating circle. “Umm... yeah. First time was when I landed. I got chased by some humanoids with red hair, purple smocks, and extra layer of skin on their face -”

“Dollotrons.”

“What?”

“Dollotrons are genderless lobotomized humans with masks fused into their face,” Tim explained. “Mindless minions created by Professor Pyg; a man with a pig mask, wearing an apron. Always carries a butcher's knife with him.”

“Wait – really?!” Dick said with disbelief in his eyes. “Is that what -”

“I've fought that disturbed character and his minions a couple times and know their quirks enough to name them. It's a shame I couldn't completely decimate them.”

Dick opened and closed his mouth, a couple of times to process the information. He shook his head and continued his tale. Telling Tim about being cornered by strange humanoids (gone men) and suddenly saved by some dark entity. By the time Dick reaches the end of his tale, Tim had a frown in thought of processing the information.

By the end of it, Tim seemed to made his decision, jumping down from his perch and walks past Dick. He turns to look behind him. “Aren't you coming?”

Dick looked confused, pointing at himself.

Tim gave an annoyed sigh. “Don't make me regret this.”

\---

After a series of complicated twists and turns, jumping from rooftop to rooftop they finally made it to their destination. A decrepit rundown apartment building about to fall apart just like the rest of the buildings in Gotham.

But after going in and past a false wall, Dick was surprised on how stable looking the place is. There are no outstanding cracks or damage to the interior infrastructure. A line of heavy looking weaponry ranging from projectile and extendable are hung the far side of the wall. Worn looking books piled over the shelf in the corner and a lamp is hunged by the wall to light up the room.

“Your clothes are just barely hanging onto you.” Tim hands him some clothes and a water bottle. “These should somewhat fit you. Bathroom is over there but there's no running water, deal with it.”

Items received Dick went to the bathroom. Setting the items down the first thing Dick did was look in the mirror. He wipes the dust off the mirror, notes the scruff starting to grow on his chin. Small cuts and bruises littered parts of his face but nothing to make a fuss over. Bags forming under his eyes, realizing he hasn't slept for quite a while but he didn't feel a bit exhausted if he counted the multiple times he fell unconscious.

He removes his clothes, holding up the clothes given by Tim. A navy blue polyester button up followed by dark blue pants. It fits perfectly.

He uses the water bottle to refresh himself, he steps out of the bathroom feeling better in quite a while. Tim looks up from his book, scanning Dick over. “How you feeling?”

“Quite better, thanks.”

Tim nodded, reaching for something on the shelf behind him. He tosses two protein bars at Dick. “You're still human, you need food and rest.”

Dick thanks Tim, brushing some dust off the bars. “Is there anyone else here? Other than the two of us?”

Tim looks away, looking down at ground as though it is more interesting. “None. Anybody left here are too far gone. I've been here for what seems like an eternity and have watched people get devoured or be turned into something evil.”

The shadow that looms over this boy, Dick could only imagine how Tim could have survive this long by himself. Alone.

“Three years.”

Tim sharply looks up. “What?”

“Three years,” Dick fiddles with the protein bars in his hands, looking away. “Three years since the incident at Ace Chemicals that took Gotham. Everyone from Gotham had disappeared and this place was called No Man's Land by people of Blüdhaven. All there is left is an abandoned city.”

For a moment none of them spoke. None of them had moved. Only the crinkle of a wrapper is heard.

Tim gripped the edge of the table he was leaning on. “Three years...” he hoarsely whispered. “Three...”

It serves to confirm Dick's theory that time passes much differently here. But the severity is lost to him until he took a closer look at the room he's in with Tim.

Although the the place looks well-maintained; dust covered the perishable food supplies while the weapons are free of dust suggesting they're used often. The walls are dark but to his surprise, it's only dark because tally marks are decorated all around. Tally marks are indented into the walls from floor to ceiling completely. It's not just on one wall but all four around them.

“I ran out of room and lost count after that,” Tim gets up, his hair covering his eyes. “There's a bedroom there, you can catch up on your sleep. I'll be back soon.”

Tim didn't give a chance for Dick to respond, quickly leaving the room leaving Dick alone in Tim's hideaway.

Dick goes over to where Tim had been, taking on a similar position by the table. He puts the protein bars on the table and fishes out dog tags from under his shirt. The tags that was given by Barbara, originally belonged to her father Jim Gordon with the promise he would come back safely.

He tugs on the tags, feeling the engraving beneath his fingers. “Looks like I won't be back for a while.”

 


End file.
